THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130259
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DEROCHI AND JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Long : 147 lines
A Navy female recruit at an Orlando, Fla., boot camp was allegedly ordered into a shower, kicked, and beaten with broom handles by three company commanders - at the same time the Navy was cracking down on harassment of its women sailors.
The recruit, one of the first women to enroll in the Navy's integrated boot camp, reported the Aug. 12, 1992, incident, but no action was taken against the enlisted instructors, according to an internal Navy document obtained by The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star.
The woman has been transferred to the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, where she is awaiting a discharge for a medical disability that may be linked to the beating.
Details about the incident surfaced last month when the woman told a corpsman at the Portsmouth hospital that she was suffering from an equilibrium disorder. The corpsman notified the command.
An investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was launched Nov. 30.
``I've got a feeling we're going to wind up substantiating her allegations, that would be my bet,'' said a senior Navy official who is familiar with the investigation.
``The injuries support what happened to her. It appears like somebody hit her with the flat of a hand or a cupped hand.''
According to the Navy memo, the woman, who was 20 at the time, had been designated as a trainee leader at the boot camp at the Naval Training Center in Orlando when she was told to report in ``uniform and rain gear after class.''
``Three company commanders took her into the shower which was generating steam from hot water,'' the memo stated. ``Victim was then made to do `PT' while being kicked and struck by broom handles.
``Victim alleges that she was required to pay her dues before she could order men around.''
The woman, an operations specialist, first recounted the incident to a female chief corpsman at a branch medical clinic in Orlando, according to the Navy memo. The chief told the recruit it was not significant, and no action was taken.
The memo was sent Dec. 7 from the hospital to commands throughout the Navy, including that of the chief of naval operations, Adm. Jeremy Boorda.
After the woman first reported the attack, ``several other persons were reportedly informed'' during the next two years, including officials at the Navy's Fleet Combat Training Center at Dam Neck, according to the memo.
``No known official actions'' were taken, until the recent NCIS investigation, the memo states.
The incident took place less than six months after then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Frank B. Kelso focused a public spotlight on the problem of sexual harassment by instituting a policy of ``zero tolerance'' for the mistreatment of women.
That crackdown followed a string of embarrassing scandals that had rocked the Navy, including the 1991 Tailhook convention, where Navy pilots groped women in the hallway of a Las Vegas hotel.
One week before the alleged beating, in August 1992, the Navy had touted its integrated boot camp at Orlando as an example of how men and women can work together.
At the time, Orlando was the only one of the three Navy boot camps that trained women. The center has since closed as part of the federal base-closing efforts.
``There is nothing we can do in the way of training to correct this,'' said a senior Navy officer. ``Hell, we have told them a million times they can't do this. In every instance where we have got hazing, we take disciplinary action, and they all know that.''
The NCIS investigation into the incident began earlier this month. The chief corpsman, now stationed in Panama, has been interviewed, along with the victim, her parents and at least one witness.
Wayne Bailey, a special agent in charge of the Norfolk branch of the NCIS, acknowledged his office is pursuing a variety of leads.
``We are looking at particular people who allegedly engaged in this activity,'' Bailey said. ``But there are a large number of people all over the world. Potentially, we have witnesses scattered from Scotland to Panama.''
One of the difficulties in the investigation is that the victim has not been able to identify her assailants by first and last name. It is also unclear how many of the company commanders - normally first class petty officers or chiefs - were involved in the actual beating.
``Although initially three company commanders were involved, many more may have joined in later,'' according to the memo, obtained by the newspapers.
Neither is it known what, if any, action could be taken against the commanders. Under military law, there is a two-year statute of limitations on assault charges.
``Everything could be proven and we wind up not doing anything about it,'' the senior officer said. ILLUSTRATION: ORALANDO TRAINING CENTER
FILE
In the spring of 1992, just after the opening of the coed boot camp,
an integrated unit marches on a drill.
SPRING 1992
Navy begins "zero tolerance" policy on sexual harassment: Any sailor
who violates the rules is automatically kicked out of the military.
AUGUST 1992
One of the first women to enroll in the gender-integrated boot camp
is allegedly kicked and beaten by enlisted instructors.
Graphic
HISTORY OF ABUSE
May 1990: A female midshipman resigns from the U.S. Naval Academy
after being handcuffed to a urinal by two male classmates and yelled
at by a group of male midshipmen in Annapolis, Md. The woman, Gwen
Marie Dreyer, was ostracized for complaining about the incident. The
penalties levied are demerits against the two midshipmen who pulled
Dreyer from her room. The case later spurs six congressional
investigations and a review of sexual harassment policy at the
academy.
October 1990: The Navy's inspector general reports that rapes,
other sexual assaults and violations of ``fraternization'' rules
have been reported at the Navy's Orlando, Fla., training center and
that the center often has not sought adequate punishment of the
offenders. The findings state that 24 rapes and sexual assaults had
been reported in the 18 months ending June 30 at the center, the
only boot camp for female recruits entering the Navy. Investigators
substantiated six rape cases and five instances of sexual assault.
September 1991: Dozens of women report being assaulted by
aviators at the Tailhook convention in Las Vegas. The Navy is
blasted for mishandling an investigation into the incident and
failing to find those accused of misconduct. Former Navy Secretary
H. Lawrence Garrett is forced to resign, and several of the Navy's
top admirals lose their jobs. In February 1994, the controversy
catches then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Frank B. Kelso, who
leaves office after a military judge in Norfolk blasts him for his
role.
January 1993 to September 1994 - Instructors at the Internal
Communications A School in San Diego are accused of verbally and
physically badgering 16 female students and threatening that their
grades would suffer if they didn't comply with the instructors'
sexual demands. The Navy appoints a central adjudicating authority
to look into cases of alleged harassment against seven of the
school's instructors. Though no evidence is found of any exchange
of sexual favors for grades, three sailors are disciplined on
charges ranging from fraternization to adultery and assault and
battery. Disciplinary hearings are continuing.
KEYWORDS: WOMEN IN THE NAVY ASSAULT HAZING RECRUIT ABUSE
INJURIES SAILOR INVESTIGATION ZERO TOLERANCE HARASSMENT
NCIS by CNB